Purchased House

It has been a long journey from March 2009 to the present. We purchased a house in Portland, TX and moved into it on October 1. It took us a week to move all of our stuff from the rental house which was located about a mile away. In the process of moving we have reduced our inventory by given away a number of belongings that were of no use to us. Hopefully this exercise will help us simplify our life. We are still far away from being fully moved in. We still have items in storage up in Kestrel, north of San Antonio, which will be moving down here this coming weekend. We will then have to make another trip to move stuff out of the hangar. We are keeping our house at Kestrel Airpark but it will continue to be rented out.

Manabi, Jama - Ecuador September 10 - 13

Miguel and Bella recommended us to visit Jama located on the coast of Ecuador and to stay at a Hotel Punta Blanca. We invited Miguel, Bella, and two of our good friends, Patricia and Fernando Landazuri to go along with us to this location. The trip takes seven hours from Quito to Jama. It is an adventure, the distance is not more than 130 miles as the crow flies but due to the roads, traffic, towns in between and the “chapas acostados” “chapas” a word meaning “policemen” and “acostados” meaning “lying down” basically “speed bumps” the trip takes 3.5 times of what would take on a road here in the USA. The “speed bumps” are not standard size, they are of any size and height from one to the other therefore you have to really slow down to a stop and make sure that your vehicle is high enough to go over the bumps. We arrived at the Punta Blanca Hotel in Jama. The Hotel is nice, it has rooms made out of tents and provides a nice bedroom and bathroom. The view of the Pacific ocean is great, the hotel seats about 150 feet above sea level. The beach is clean, wide and deep into the ocean. We had a great time playing in the water and walking along the beach. The food in the hotel was excellent throughout our stay. We had a nice time visiting with the family and friends, talking and playing “Telefunken” at night. No television and radio. We slept easily 8 hours a night.

Galapagos Islands - September 2 - 9, 2009

We met our good friends Angel and Lilian King and flew from Quito to Galapagos via Gal Airlines, landed at the Island of Baltra. We then boarded the Coral I ship from Klein Tours. We visited most of the islands. It was impressive to see the Iguanas, Sea Lions, Albatross, and other birds and the variety of flora from one island to another. You can spend plenty of time just observing these animals and nature while forgetting all the busy life in existence on the main land. The result is relaxation to its finest. Good times were spent with Angel and Lilian, we enjoyed the food accompanied by good wine, and a nice Ecuadorian Cigar before and sometimes after dinner. On the last day of our visit we even played football with teams made up of passengers and crew members. The crew of Coral I made our trip an experience not to easy to forget. The Galapagos experience was fantastic and we recommend it to anyone that enjoys Mother Nature.

On to the US

Because of the time change we arrived in Houston, still on Friday February 13. Talk about jet lag! Going east is brutal. It took us 4 or 5 days to get our internal clocks reset. Being greeted by Christine, Rudy, Diego, their dogs, our dogs and bird was wonderful. Christine and Rudy are enjoying Houston. Diego is now a tall and very sharp 2 year old. Our dogs are doing great. That first weekend we also got to see Fernando, Ange, Madeleine and Marcel.
The third week of February we flew to Midland to see Peggy’s parents, who are doing better health wise now that they are in assisted living. On the way back to Houston we stopped in Kestrel to see our house, airplane and friends. All are well. The fourth week of February we drove to Corpus Christi, TX. Gus will be working for Sherwin Alumina in Portland, TX starting March 2. Naturally there is a long list of things to take care of and decisions to be made.

3rd stop – New Zealand

We did not want to leave this part of the world without seeing New Zealand. Our friends, the Buicks, had taken a trekking trip on the South Island of New Zealand, on the Milford Track/Sound. We decided to do the same and flew from Melbourne to Queenstown. We arrived in New Zealand on February 6. The tour started on the 7, with Ultimate Hikes. It was a 5 day, 4 night hiking/boat/bus trip that goes from Queenstown up the Milford Track/Sound and back. There is 53 Km (34 miles) of walking. The trip goes through the mountains and valleys of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. On the average, the walks are 14 km/day. Following each walk you arrive to a lodge where you have a nice hot shower, a good bed, great food and great wine/champers. The weather, for us, was average. We experienced a cloudy day, a rainy day and a couple of sunny days. It is summer and the temperature ranged between 40 and 70 degrees F. This area gets an average of 9 ft of rain annually. Basically all the rain that should fall over Australia falls here on New Zealand’s west coast due to the Southern Alps. We met a bunch of fun people from Japan, Scotland, England, US, Kiwis and Aussies. It is a trip well worth taking. We highly recommend it.
On Friday February 13 we left New Zealand for Los Angeles. Taking that last flight on Qantas was sad; Qantas is a wonderful airline. These past 18 months in Australia have been full of great experiences. We had a chance to see a good part of the continent, as well as acquiring some great new friends. We bring priceless memories we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

2nd stop – Melbourne

We wanted to see this city before leaving Australia. Our good friend, Guillaume, had encouraged us to take a bus tour of the Great Ocean Road. He was right. If you don’t have a lot of time to spare, take a tour. This one was a 12 hour tour starting at 8 AM. The scenery along the southern coast of Australia following the Great Ocean Road (as it is called) is magnificent. This road was built by the men returning from World War I in honor of the men that did not return from the War. One location worth mention is the 12 Apostles (see picture). The ocean with time has separated portions of the coast along an approximately 5 mile span of coastline. These are now 12 individual pieces like pieces from a chess set standing alone in front away from the coast. We took a helicopter ride and were able to see these spectacular natural structures from the air. The second day in Melbourne we visited the city. It is easy to tour downtown by taking a free bus ride which goes around the outskirts of the central business district. You can make stops many places and return to take the bus. Melbourne is a very diverse city. The Italian and Chinese neighborhoods are worth visiting. There are restaurants everywhere and the choice of food is huge. We stayed at the Urban St. Kilda hotel in St. Kilda Beach, located just southeast of the central city. It is easy to get there via train. The beach, as most in Australia, is beautiful, blue/turquoise water. People, dogs, kids playing on the beach, surfing, kayaking, sailing, parasailing; you name it, you will see it here. Great place to visit.

1st stop – Brisbane

We spent a couple of days with Dave and Sue Buick. Had the opportunity of meeting his brother and family, as well as seeing Bob and Don (Dave’s parents). We all watched the Super Bowl on Monday at 10 AM Brisbane time. Good Aussie party with plenty of champers, beer, and wine, in addition of a good sauna during half time. Oh, not to forget seeing Bob, the dog.

Leaving Gove

On February 1, 2009 we left home returning to the USA. We have spent 18 happy months in the Northern Territory of Australia. During this time we made good friends, visited the real outback, and traveled throughout Australia. We certainly are happy to be returning to our home and family but not without the sadness of leaving our friends and a place that we’ll remember forever.

Pico de Gallo (Gus’s version)

2 Jalapeño peppers or green chilies
3 Roma tomatoes (preferred)
½ Yellow onions or green, white or a red onion
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp chopped garlic
Dash of cumin
½ lime
1 tsp olive oil
3-4 Drops of the original Outerbridge sherry-peppers sauce (Gus’s optional “fufu” additive). You can purchase it from: http://www.outerbridge.com/mainindex.htm
1/3 cup cilantro (coriander)

• Finely dice the following ingredients: jalapeño tomatoes, and onion.
Take a sharp knife and cut the above in half lengthwise. Then cut off the ends and begin slicing the halves into thin strips along their length. Be sure to keep all the slices together so that each sliced half appears to remain intact with all the slices in place. Rotate the sliced half and begin slicing across your previous cuts so that you end up with finely diced pieces.
• Mix these ingredients in a large bowl
• Taste the mixture and determine if you need to add more tomatoes based on how hot you want the Pico to be.
• Add the rest of the ingredients (in order) to the mixture and adjust the amounts based on taste after each ingredient is added.
• Cut the lime into quarters and squeeze the juice from each lime wedge into the bowl and stir thoroughly.
• Add the oil
• To prepare the cilantro (coriander), leave it in the bundle and run it under cold water, shaking it as you do so. After rinsing it, shake of the excess water and lay the entire bundle on the cutting board. Cut the stems and throw them away, take a very sharp knife and with your free hand gather the top of the cilantro into a compact bundle and begin making thin slices moving down the bundle and continue chopping the cilantro until it is as fine as you can get it. Add it to your bowl with the other ingredients and stir until evenly mixed.
• Cover the mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator (if possible) for 1 hour so the mixed ingredients can react and the flavors can mix.
Enjoy it with Doritos Chips, or add as a topping to your favorite grilled meat/fish.
Buen provecho!